At a stretch: Doctors are also humans, says YDA

Say medics working continuously across select Mayo wards for days

LAHORE: Hundreds of postgraduate trainees and house officers posted at Mayo Hospital have been working for days at a stretch without respite in trying conditions.

Doctors have been using common toilets and resting on beds with two or more of their peers during fleeting breaks. “One cannot make sense of our plight,” house officer Asifa Khayyam* said. Khayyam, who works at the hospital’s South Surgical Ward, said doctors had been entrusted with a pivotal responsibility. She wondered how the hospital administration expected doctors to effectively discharge duties given the present state of affairs.

Of Mayo Hospital’s four major surgical wards, only the South and the East ones have a ward week policy. The remaining wards have 24-hour shifts in place. Professor Abrar Ashraf, who heads the South Surgical Ward, reiterated the need for week-long shifts. “The decision was taken to facilitate smooth patient follow-up,” he said. Ashraf clarified that the policy only applied to postgraduate trainees and house officers.

The ward head said lack of effective communication had been noted during shift changes. This, he said, compromised patient welfare. Ashraf said it also proved beneficial for postgraduate trainees and house officers as such a routine allowed them to clock up training hours over a short span of time.

He said the hospital administration had been planning to look into the issue with the constitution of a committee on the cards. Ashraf said this was being done following several complaints. He said the committee would be empowered to change the ward week policy.

Ayesha Shaukat of the hospital’s West Ward said she understood why a week-long-routine was in place across some wards. She said those in-charge there were extremely competent individuals who must have had a good reason to enshrine such a policy. The ward where Shaukat works has 24-hour shifts in place thereby allowing doctors to proceed home to rest.

Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) Mayo Hospital functionary Qazi Yasir said the West Surgical Ward was touted as the hospital’s best. He said this epitomised the failure of the ward week policy.  “I fail to fathom why this is not being revised. Doctors are also mortals who need to rest,” Yasif quipped. He held heads of wards responsible on this account. He said the medical superintendent was not in a position to do anything about the policy.

*Name changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2016.